As you may know, proposals have been made to Wycombe District Council to build 217 homes at the Molins factory site on Haw Lane and 42 homes on the West Yard site near Saunderton station.

Separately, Wycombe DC is considering its long-term housing needs as part of drafting its Local Plan for the District. One option that they looking at is for significantly larger development at the Molins site (500- 1000 homes) on the grounds that a development of this scale, effectively a new village, could justify and finance improvements to local services and infrastructure that smaller-scale development would be unlikely to bring. The Council has told David Lidington that this idea is only at an exploratory stage and no decision has been taken.

Both the Molins and West Yard sites have always been treated in local plans as brownfield industrial enclaves within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Given that fact, development of some kind is inevitable.

Working with Councillor Carl Etholen, I am looking into whether we could be confident of improvements to services if a new village were given the go-ahead. For example, the MD of Chiltern Rail has told me that, depending on the increase in passenger demand, it could mean more trains stopping at Saunderton.

But David & Carl also want to understand the views of local residents. You can complete the survey online by clicking here.

Once David & Carl have received responses they will liaise with the planning authorities and make sure that the feelings of local residents are represented. David & Carl will also make sure to keep a close eye on how the matter develops and update you as we learn more.